Dec 30 The Best Things We Came Across With This 2016

Just one day left 'til we bid 2016 goodbye and say hello to another year to conquer! We've all gone through so many ups and downs which made us crazy happy and sad. But one thing's for sure: we all slayed 2016.

We love getting our hands on really good stuff that is worth it, makes us feel good, and upsizes our lives! Here's to looking back at the amazing things that we've loved from 2016 and are bringing on to the next year and the years ahead:

Solo Local Travel

Undeniably, we embrace and appreciate our own culture better because whenever we travel. This year, we were lucky enough to be able to go Dora the Explorer on several of the amazing islands of our own country to see the picturesque landscapes that are tangible testimonies of how rich the Philippines actually is.

We'd love to immerse into different, colorful cultures but this was the year we actually highly valued our own. With alluring beaches, magnificent mountains, and story-filled faces of the Filipino people, who could even say no?

Best part of the whole trip? We totally went into being a solivagant and enjoyed the environment we're in. Getting lost was surely part of the whole adventure as well as meeting new people and making new friends! Doing a lot of solo travel in our homeland has already been so fun with a lot of sights seen, lessons learned, and insights realized.

Next year, we're definitely going to do some more solo travel and we're taking you with us!

Luisaviaroma definitely takes us to a luxurious place with a good mix of their designer brands all available online. This is part of our picks not only because of the luxe, but also because they have a ton of amazing sale items and they have free shipping to the Philippines!

Shoes, bags, clothes, accessories. This is the site to be at when you feel like being a bit generous to yourself. The prices you'll see from this site are already inclusive of taxes. Plus, it's so nice that they send us SMS every now and then to update us with their promos. So cool!

Drop by their site to see if you find something awesome for yourself. You know you deserve it. They're on Facebook and Instagram too.

Sonja may be famous for their pretty and sweet cupcakes but we're loving them even more for their Rainbow Fiesta that makes us go crazy like that rainbow-vomiting snapchat filter. This cake is just oozing with happiness and magic that makes us lose all our stress which is actually one of the main reasons why it made it on our list.

photo from @tastysights instagram

If we could have it everyday for a month, which we may or may not probably have actually done, we'd be so happy. Like, unicorn happy.

We don't even know how to begin with our obsession with Lush. It's just so much that we decided to give some soaps to everybody on Christmas of this year to spread the cosmetic preservation revolution. If you haven't heard of Lush (seriously, ever?) then you're missing out.

Lush is a cosmetics store from the US that specializes in natural handmade bath and body products. They promote a culture of less trash, more product by selling their bar soaps, bath bombs, and the like naked and concocts a better quality of goods that are very good.

"Get a beach-beautiful style with this volumizing sea salt spray! Spritz on damp or dry hair for shine, hold and texture. A gorgeous orange flower, neroli and rosewood blend perfumes your locks with the most intoxicating smell. In fact, you might find yourself spritzing it on just to smell it! Use any time you want to refresh, re-style or add some volume, texture and shine."

photo from Anna's Makeup Oasis

"This tingly, minty face and body mask was formulated to be intensely cleansing but never harsh or abrasive. Kaolin clay and peppermint oil rid your pores of debris, giving you a delightfully tingly clean sensation. We add loads of ground aduki beans to exfoliate flaky or dry skin, vanilla absolute to calm redness and honey to soothe and moisturize."

photo from Fashion My Size

Both of these products are super good, effective, and nice to us and to the earth which makes both of these products two of our FAVORITE THINGS.

24K Magic

You don't rush creativity. So we didn't rush Bruno Mars. The groove-dropping singer songwriter finally lifts his hiatus from the musicsphere when he released his not-skipping-a-track album 24K Magic.

smashtheclub.com

Doo Wops and Hooligans was amazing but his new album is just the bomb. Bruno takes us on a journey to silk sheets, diamonds, and strawberry champagne all night through his music. We even fell in love with him more when he did carpool karaoke with James Corden (which now has 32 million views on Youtube) and just oozed major chill vibes like he's on vacation 24/7.

You're living the life, Bruno Mars.

Listen 24K Magic on Spotify.

Nanbantei

What would this list be without food? We love food. Especially Japanese food. Most especially Nanbantei.

Just the thought of the savory Yakitori served on a square ceramic plate makes our mouths water. That paired with sumptuous servings of Japanese rice and the very authentic Japanese restaurant vibe. We're definitely craving for more.

Visit our favorite Nanbantei locations at Greenbelt 3 and Carlos Palanca! Check out their website to know more about why we love Nanbantei. They also have Facebook and Instagram.